As I said in the IMPACT coverage, last week the weather change got the best of me; and writing wasn’t really on the precipice of my mind. That being said, it also changed what I was going to do this week. It WAS going to be a little unique, but after listening to one of the albums; it disappointed me to the point of not even wanting to tear it apart.

THAT – brings us to now. I’ve hinted at what album has been my number 1 for a good bit of this year, and this one still holds strong. Some people may know the singer as Karthus from the Pentakill album Pentakill III: Lost Chapter. He’s also been in the scene for nearly 30 in some shape or fashion. So we’ve got a veteran epic heavy rock vocalist and an album that needs reviewing!

Jorn is: Tore Moren (guitars), Sid Ringsby (bass), Beata Polak (drums), Alessandro Del Vecchio (keyboards), Jorn Lande (vocals)

• Artist: Jorn
• Album: Over the Horizon Radar (2022)
• Label: Frontiers Records
• Total Track Time: 54:26

Over the Horizon Radar, gotta love when albums start off with the titular song. Immediately this is a great mixture of European Power Style like Edguy and classic metal with vocals that give David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio vibes. Lyrically its just a very cool song about some fantastical flying adventure and tonally the instrumentation is just great. It keeps a great rhythm, has lighter high points of soaring higher and then a nice clam breakdown which washes images of slowly coasting through a sunset, as the drum starts to slowly push the pace for a more epic finish. The songs soars and glides, and is just a pleasure to listen to. Dead London is personally my favorite song on the album. Starting ominously with church bells, the song seems to paint a picture utilizing some concepts of post-airstrike London during WW2, but lyrically it takes a fantasy turn and focuses on aliens. But the song has such a great deliberate tempo, the rhythm section is driving this along a lot like the concept of trying to slowly plow through the danger and/or rubble. It builds beautifully with a little reminiscent bass line of Dawn Patrol. Also they use the concept of the chorus keeping about 80% accuracy but evolving as the story changes. The final iteration is very cool and can be applied in more ways than after an alien attack; “Dead London, rising after the fall, Dead London, rebuilding houses and halls, In London Town, bringing back the sound of London, We had taken back the crown”.

My Rock and Roll opens immediately with a lamenting ballad approach. Its a little jarring with the immediate start and the different approach, but that keeps me intrigued. After the first verse, the music ramps up and we get a slower and slinky arrangement, almost in a Motley Crue style. An interesting angle this song takes, is its more self reflective lyrics. Discussing different difficulties he’s had, hiccups, obstacles, but he wants to live his ‘Rock and Roll dream’. So it definitely has that 80s classic metal idea of sounded generally good with marginally uplifting lyrics. One Man War okay, this song reminds us all that there is a European base for the band members. It comes off very much like a stereotypical Gothic Power Metal, think like…Beast in Black. Its not a bad song, and still slots into the sound they’ve established well enough, its just very notably a weaker song because it’s the definition of basic. Black Phoenix, we continue with unique ways to open each song. The drumline beat and dueling guitars, into a very Judas Priest crunch also reminds me of something like, Tarot. We get a very cool guitar driven song. As for the pre-chorus, that explains the concept of the song fairly well; “It burned me black as coal, But I’m not melting, ‘Cause my wings are made of soul, And always mending”, so this resilient way of making it through isn’t an unfamiliar topic, but the song is well done, the music has almost a movie chase scene feeling…its just a very cool song.

Special Edition is probably the perfect 80s montage song. Such a great drive on top of lyrics that discuss realizing self worth, ambition and being a special edition. If Cobra Kai doesn’t use this or James Gunn in something DC oriented…I’m gonna be disappointed. Ode to the Black Nightshade starts with a somber almost bardic pluck to the guitar. I will admit, this song is beautifully arranged. While I usually enjoy instrumental triplets, the fact the verses have triplets on the rhyme scheme is awesome. So many little aspects of this song are very cool and not things seen often. Hard to really quantify it simply, just note that I’m realizing I like that song more than I thought I did. Winds of Home well I’ll be honest, this is the shortest song…and there’s really nothing of note about. It just kinda happened, started a little slow and stayed in that power ballad range.

In the Dirt is a love song with some swing. It has a very cool radio rock drum drive, but enough catchy elements that its not until you read the lyrics you realize its a song about the singer finding his muse and being lost without them. “Can’t take flight without you, Couldn’t see the light that shines the night, Losing magic without you, You give me reason, you make it worth the fight”, lyrically cool and sweet without being sappy and stripped down. Great mixture. Believer now this opens like a Meat Loaf song, a little synth, a little bit of an open club vibe…and very guitar driven. And much like a Meat Loaf or 80s Rock & Roll song, this has a cool beat but some of the lyrics are a little silly. While it paints a few images probably of the music industry, it has cheese elements of lines like “I’m a Roller and I’m a Rocker”, so musically its great classic heavy metal; lyrically however…its like a B rated action movie.

Now some of you may wonder how this is my hands down number 1 so far when there were a few “weaker” songs. Weak, doesn’t necessarily imply bad, just inferior to the rest of the album. When I first heard this album in June, it was just background noise while I was doing other things; and it struck me like a lightning bolt to the tip of my penis. And it has remained firmly at the top of my replays and enjoyment in the last like 4 months. Can’t really say that about any other album yet.

So many songs were just beautifully done, catchy and sung in a way that only prime Dio, Coverdale or Geoff Tate could really pull off. If you’re into classic metal, this is an album you will love.

Final Judgment: 9.5/10